DETROIT, MI (June 10, 2026) – PWHL Detroit today announced that defender Sydney Bard has been signed to a two-year Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Standard Player Agreement ahead of the team’s inaugural 2026-27 season. Bard joins PWHL Detroit with a contract through the 2027-28 campaign and becomes the team’s sixth player and first to be added during Phase 3 of the PWHL’s Expansion Player Distribution Process.
Bard contributed two assists in 30 games with the Vancouver Goldeneyes in 2025-26, joining the team in the 2025 PWHL Expansion Draft. She was originally selected 22nd overall by the Boston Fleet in the fourth round of the 2024 PWHL Draft and scored her first PWHL goal in her third career game on Dec. 8, 2024, to bring her rookie total to one goal and two assists. In five NCAA seasons at Colgate University, the 25-year-old from New Hartford, NY, won four ECAC titles and captained the team in her senior season. She surpassed the 100-career point mark during her fifth year as a Raider, finishing her collegiate career with 13 goals and 99 assists. Internationally, Bard earned a silver medal with Team USA at the 2019 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship.
On PWHL Detroit, Bard becomes the team’s second defender following the Phase 2 acquisition of Cayla Barnes (three-year contract). She will reunite with another Phase 2 signee in Hannah Bilka (two-year contract), after the pair spent their rookie season together with Boston in 2024-25. In Phase 2, Detroit also added forwards Daryl Watts (four-year contract), along with Britta Curl-Salemme and Jesse Compher, both signed to two-year contracts.
At the end of the Phase 3 signing period, each expansion team will have up to eight total players by signing a maximum of three players on expiring contracts during this phase. Existing PWHL teams may protect three players under contract for the 2026-27 season, and/or players on expiring contracts signed during this phase, to bring their total protected lists to six players. The Phase 3 signing period continues until Friday, June 12 at 3 p.m. ET, followed by a 5 p.m. ET deadline for existing teams to submit their protection lists prior to the Phase 4 signing period.
A complete list of player signings and transactions is available on the official PWHL Transactions Page. To see the full overview of the status of PWHL player contracts, visit the PWHL Contract Guide here.
ABOUT PWHL DETROIT
PWHL Detroit is one of 12 teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), which was founded in 2023. The PWHL began its inaugural season in January 2024 and features the best women’s hockey players in the world. PWHL Detroit was officially announced as one of the league’s four new expansion teams on May 6 and will debut at Little Caesars Arena in the fall. Fans can place a time-stamped deposit here, opens in a new tab to secure priority access to season tickets for PWHL Detroit’s historic inaugural season, once ticket packages are released. To learn more and stay up to date, visit DetroitPWHL.com, subscribe to the newsletter here, opens in a new tab and follow the team on Facebook PWHL Detroit, opens in a new tab, Instagram @PWHL__Detroit, opens in a new tab, X @PWHL__Detroit, opens in a new tab, TikTok @PWHL__Detroit, opens in a new tab, YouTube PWHL Detroit, opens in a new tab, Threads @PWHL__Detroit, opens in a new tab, and Bluesky @PWHL--Detroit, opens in a new tab.
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